Who here doesn't watch on "home theaters"? (1 Viewer)

[Jean D]

Isnt this Home Theater Forum? Where primarily we discuss all aspects of home theater from basic equipment to top of the line, not just dvd's or shows. Im sure there is a dvd forum out there that probably would suit your needs a little better. It sounds as if you dont want the home theater part of the forum. Im not trying to sound condescending, but that's how you make it sound. But Im here to mainly talk and read about peoples HT setup's. I live this stuff, and so do most of the members here.

FYI: I shop anywhere there is a good deal including Walmart. and so do the other members, for instance the long running thread for walmart's $5.99 dvd bin.

 

[Jean D]

I'd like to be in the movies and sell them so I can afford luxury cars and nice homes.

 

[george kaplan]

My mistake. I saw the colored title and mistook him for a mod.

Again, just to be clear, I don't give a damn what anyone else watches, and if people want to watch p&s, more power to them. But when they go into Wal-Mart and complain about the black bars, so that we end up with dvds like Ella Enchanted in p&s only (this dvd wasn't going to be on my to buy list anyway, but I am still upset that those who do want to buy it can not do so except to get p&s), then I get upset. If they want to watch p&s that's one thing, but when they end up preventing me from watching OAR, then I will badmouth them.

 

[Jon Martin]

I don't have a theatre either. Just a flat screen Sony either 27 or 32 inch Wega I got a couple years ago. I'd love to get a widescreen, but I'm waiting a bit. The prices drop weekly and I'm waiting to buy a house first.

As for sound, I have a 10 year old Surround receiver I used for laserdiscs. But, I don't even have it hooked up anymore. I just play my player through my TV. I'm not into the big budget action films that require big sound anyway, so it isn't a problem.

I do have multiple players though. I bought a Panasonic DVD recorder last year which I love. And several smaller ones that are multi region.

But even if I had the money, I would buy more DVDs instead of getting a theatre. I have spent enough on DVDs over the years so that I COULD have bought a big home theatre, but I'm happy with what I have.

 

[Ricard Casselha]

I don't have a home theater, but my parents does. So I tend to bring a movie or two whenever I come over to visit.

 

[Matt_M]

Eric, you started a very interesting discussion.
I think I may be in the minority here but I am one of the people that prefers to browse this forum and I post very rarely. I was a J6P when I got my first DVD and asked what the hell are those black bars. I don't even remember how I found this forum but suffice it to say the explonations given to me made sense and even though I have a 4:3 display I started collecting OAR DVDs. Now I look forward to getting a widescreen display and I am thankfull for all the info I gathered on HTF. Although, I have a surround system DD/DTS back home I've been living in Japan for the past 2 years and let me tell you my TV is tiny and my appartment is a shoe box :b . Nevertheless, I still enjoy watching movies. I think that is what is most important, so ignore the old DD vs DTS discussions, edge enhancement topics etc if they don't apply to you.
Because I seldom post here I doubt anybody remembers anything I posted. However, having browsed this forum for more than a couple of years I feel that the owners and the moderators do their best to keep the discussions civil and interesting and that is why I always come back here. Whether, it is in the After hours lounge talking about silica pockets, homemade pizza or whatever or in the software section talking about the newest DVD release I think most of the members here do their best to answer any questions that come their way.
So in the end all I can say is I think that most people here on HTF are good natured and as is evidenced by all the responses in this thread so far. That is why I think so many people stick with the HTF and if you had bad experiences all I can say is "forget about it" and I am sure there will be plenty of people to answer your questions whatever they may be.
Wow, my longest post ever .

 

[Randy B A]

I think that line is from Ruthless People, when Judge Rienhold (sp) is selling the huge speakers to the young guy. Randy B A

 

[DouglasRobert]

Hey, I own a 1988 27" Stereo TV with S-VHS jack on the back. A Sanyo Hi-Fi VCR, A Memorex DVD Player, A Pioneer DVL-700 DVD/LD player all hooked up to a Sony Dolby Pro-Logic Receiver. Speakers are just 5 bookshelf size speakers.

Picture quality is good enough for me right now.

I will upgrade my TV when it gives out, no sooner. When I upgrade my TV that's when I'll get a new Dolby Digital Receiver.

I can't see any reason to go into debt for thousands of dollars just to buy a new TV and a new receiver.

As long as I can view my DVDs/LD's/ Videotapes and TV then I'm happy.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

"Who cares if its as big as a Subararu and costs twice as much? F@cking finance it! And when you die, they can bury you with it!"

An under-appreciated film no doubt.

I personally have a 27" TV and a $400 Kenwood HTiB (I've been replacing the speakers with better quality units) so I wouldn't say i have a "theater", which in my minds eye will always require a FP set-up. But thats OK. For all the months of reading about super speakers and monster subwoofers the HTF finally turned me away from listening to bloated-bass tabletop boomboxes and listening to good ol' stereo CD's with real speakers.

Now I look forward to my after-work music listening more than movie watching. If my house burned-down tomorrow I don't think I'd even worry about rebuying a surround package, but be more intrested in getting a better 2-channel system.

Of course I'll change my mind as soon as I buy a FP system and get to watch all three LOTR movies on a 120" screen.

 

[Lyle_E]

Thanks for the correction Garett -I have not seen it in awhile....... add another to the list....

See Eric this place is not bad at all - its all ball bearings... er i mean information

 

[Nick T Robot]

My system isn't a fancy home theater but would count as a low end one since I have a digital surround sound amp with separate speakers and a nice size TV (35" 4:3).

I'd love to have a large widescreen to view the movies I love, but I still enjoy them when I'm on the road and using my Laptop PC or watching one of the smaller TVs in my home.

This forum seems to have plenty for the home range Home Theater. Remember no matter how much a specific system costs, or how impressive it might seem, there is some other system in someone's home that blows that one away!

 

[Tony Whalen]

I'd guess that I'm kinda low-to-middle-of-the-road, when it comes to my system.

I've got a nice 32" TV (Panasonic), with a JVC theater-in-a-box type system that puts out DolbyDigital and DTS 5.1. TV and JVC system have component connections, so I get great image quality for the equipment I have.

Would I like to upgrade? Sure! However, I currently have a pretty small living room, and no room for a "dedicated" home theater setup. So until I buy a new HOUSE, I'll probably stick with the setup I've got. (I'll probably eventually get a larger wide-screen HDTV, but not for a while yet.)

It serves my needs...great picture & clear surround-sound that fills the room and vibrates my windows/annoys my neighbours.

I'd LOVE a projection system, but I simply don't have the space. (Looked at some simply AWESOME projectors at a home-design trade show a couple months ago.)

I currently own nearly 300 DVD titles...I suppose if I hadn't bought that many, I could get that HDTV now.

All that being said, I've never felt unwelcome or look-down-on by anyone here. Since I got into this "hobby" or "money-pit" I've found that HTF has the most knowledgable and friendly membership around. I've never once felt beneath anyone here.

Mind you, out of the nearly-300 DVDs, I'd have to guess that less than 5% of 'em were bought at WalMart. *chuckle* I keed I keed! I don't care WHERE I buy my disks... just as long as I get a good price and they are OAR.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

I watch with just a TV and tivo but am looking into a system. We already have a non region player so I dont want to get a receiver with Another DVD player.
We are shopping around now.
I look forward to being able to hear a movie properly. I have slight hearing loss in each ear so this is something I think will be even better for me.

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

Wow. I let my replies rest a while to see how the thread would progress and came back surprised as to just how many people here "don't" have a home theater system per se.

Yes, I enjoy my system as is right now but wish to upgrade and can't right now. I too envy those who have spent $10,000+ on a full blown theater experience but that is only a dream for me. When one lives from paycheck to paycheck and not physically able to do any better... well.

Maybe I have been reading between the lines or maybe the post I read just happen to be ones concerning quality issues seen by those who do have the high-end systems? Since I am a bargin hunter I like to get the most for my money and seek guidance as to what is good or bad with a particular DVD. That is where HTF has come to help me. But I do feel intimidated at times when the big boys talk shop and I can't relate. It's like being a fifth wheel at a party.

I'll sit back and read more

Eric

 

[Michael Elliott]

George, let me expand what I was meaning a bit.

I personally don't have any problems with two versions being released. One widescreen and one fullscreen. However, I do have a problem when studios (MGM/Columbia) release FS only titles. This here is the only problem but I don't blame FS lovers for this. I blame studios being too lazy to deliver the goods. Sales charts have shown that WS outsells FS so the only thing that pops to my mind is that the studio in question is just too lazy to deliver both.

We should certainly voice our opinions on the matter but I'm curious to what MGM and Columbia think of our voices. Does it matter? Do they care? I'm really not sure because neither have been getting better over the past year and IMO both have gotten worse. Columbia has only released one FS only title that I would have bought but MGM has released quite a few and a few of them I did buy. Why? Because it's 2004 and if MGM isn't supporting WS only releases then I doubt this is going to change. The films in question were the DEATH WISH sequels and I'm sorry but MGM won't revisit these. I can either own a favorite film or be without it. In that case, I will buy what's out there.

I guess we all set our limits when it comes to standards. I know certain people who won't buy a DVD unless there's a new 5.1 track. I know some who won't buy a disc unless the original Mono track is included. Some won't buy non-anamorphic while some won't buy their favorite films if they are in a snapper. In all these cases, it's that person's money and they should do whatever makes them happy. I've got 1300+ movies in my DVD collection but I bet that person with 100 is just as happy as I am.

 

[mark alan]

Tell you what, I will trade you my 100 movie collection for your 1300 movie collection and then we can test that theory.

 

[MarkHarrison]

I know how you feel, but I don't let it bother me. My son had a birthday party yesterday and my two brother-in-laws spent quite some time discussing the new Scion (car) my sister's family just bought. I'm not sure I've ever raised the hood on my car. And I talked with the women when the subject of sports came up. But they couldn't begin to describe the difference between C, C++ and C# (programming languages). None of us know a thing about accounting, farming or cooking (something people would actually pay money to eat).

I know a lot about some things and very little about other things. Home theater is something that interests me greatly and while I couldn't carry on an intelligent conversation on some topics, I'm way more knowledgable about home theater gear now than I was a couple years ago. I don't have a super home theater system (though I was shocked to discover that my system is actually about average ), but that doesn't keep me from being interested and learning what I can. If you're not interested in learning about that stuff, regardless of if you can afford it or not, just move along to something that does interest you. I probably don't read 10% of what's posted here. But when I do, I'm sure to learn something new.

 

[AndreGB]

Well, I don't know if my opinion is that important, but here we go. I joined this forum to learn about HT and to talk about movies. I still don't own a Home Theater set, but hopefully I will one day. Anyway, I have a 4.1 speaker system on my computer, with a nice monitor and I enjoy it quite a lot.

Sorry, what does OAR and MAR mean?

 

[George_W_K]

OAR = Original Aspect Ratio

All of a sudden, I can't remember what MAR stands for! However, seeing that you are a newer member, you may not have seen this, the HTF Beginner's Primer and FAQ Page. I know I found it very informative when I first signed up.

This site might also be a good place to find out what MAR is. Or I'm sure someone else will chime in to help you out. And me, since I can't remember. Ever have your brain lock-up like that?:b

 

[Bryan X]

MAR = Modified Aspect Ratio